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Cultural Materialism In Hamlet

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Cultural Materialism approaches tragedies as symptoms of social unrest taking place in a very particular historical moment. It focuses on the inconsistences of the text which generates cultural meaning. This is how the apparent coherence of that order is threatened from the inside by inner contradictions. The tragedy Hamlet represents the great contradictions of the decaying system of his (and Shakespeare’s) time: Providentialism. Firstly, according to Providentialism and the great chain of being, there is a hierarchy related on the understanding of the world. In the state’s sphere, the king is the figure of God on Earth; he is elected by God. However, Claudius is not an elected king, but an “imposed” one (he kills his brother in order to crown himself). Moreover, in some moments (IV, iii, 3-4 and IV, vii, 18-21), Claudius questions the idea that the king is not elected by God but by the crown, since Hamlet is supported by the people. Thus, the play presents an illegitimate crown. Secondly, the king’s life must be preserved in order to preserve the life of the body politics. As Barker claims, “The figure of the king guarantees, as locus and source of power and as master-signifier, a network of subsidiary relations which constitute the real practice …show more content…

In consonance with Providentialism, there is no space for women, who are defined by male characters. However, this is problematized in both Gertrude’s and Ophelia’s definition. In the first one, as Rebecca Smith defends, “The traditional depiction of Gertrude is a false one, because what her words and actually create is a soft, obedient, dependent, unimaginative woman […]” (1992: 80). In the second one, she is treated as a possession by her father and brother. However, she uses madness in order to try to define herself. Here, this system claims that there was no space left for the enunciation of women and if they tried it, they only reached

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Introduction: From time immemorial a lot of ink has been spilled on the concept of traumatic psychology developed in men. People have long proclaimed, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” (www.childtrauma.com). Psychological wound brings experiences and help people to grow more strong. Sometimes traumatic growth doesn’t happen naturally, it also can be hereditary.

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Hamlet's uncle claudius killed king hamlet out of envy. It was envy for the throne and for the power to be the king of denmark. In act three scene three he clearly states that he murdered king hamlet for his own ambition, for the crown and for the queen of denmark, Gertrude. A lot of the deadly sin envy goes around throughout the story of hamlet. A lot of people want something someone else has.

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Killing someone for the throne? Is this Envy? Pride? Greed? Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain.

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This first seed of deception planted by the new king causes almost the entire chain of events that take place in the Tragedy Hamlet to happen. All in all Claudius’s deception plays a major role in the the layout and plot of Hamlet. Claudius is a deceptive power hungry foil character in this Shakespeare play who has a great influence on the of the actions and events that led to the climax and falling action of the play.

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The Kingdom of Denmark had just suffered the death of a great King and leader. King Hamlet was a father to the people of Denmark. Some of the citizens fully believed that Hamlet Jr. should be king because it passed down the lineage. Others believed that Claudius should be king because he was the brother of Hamlet and now the husband of Queen Gertrude. King Claudius says, "This ough yet of Hamlet our dear brother 's death

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Hamlet’s perspective causes him to stall and make excuses as to why he should wait to kill Claudius such as waiting till Claudius has sin, in order to ensure that he wouldn’t go to heaven. His perspective on life through his soliloquy “to be or not to be” allows us as readers to interpret to the development of Hamlet’s character. It reveals his inner thoughts and adds more quality to the play. In this soliloquy, Hamlet is contemplating suicide, but is haunted by the unknowns of the

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Every modern society since the beginning of time has painted the female as frail and individuals at the mercy of men, unable to reap the same freedoms and aspirations as their male counterparts. The English Renaissance is no different as women were not allowed to play themselves on stage, and more often than not were seen as weak characters in their portrayal. In Shakespeare's “Hamlet”, all the female protagonists all have flaws that eventually leads to them meeting their deaths. The characters of Ophelia and Gertrude are two different women trapped in the same predicament, partly being due to the inefficacy of being taken seriously, and are therefore perceived as feeble women; looking at the persona of Ophelia, she tends to follow the direction

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Feminism has gained a new definition a new understanding of female roles since the Elizabethan Era. Hamlet, a play written by William Shakespeare, is about a young prince, Hamlet, being visited by his father’s apparition urging him to avenge his death by murdering Prince Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius. All the while, Hamlet is enraged by his mother’s hasty marriage to Claudius and is showering his supposed love, Ophelia, with gifts and words of affection. Queen Gertrude and Ophelia are blindly obedient to male authority due to the influence of the social standards that require women to be submissive to men. Queen Gertrude and Ophelia’s actions and outcomes as characters are affected by male influence, the social norms of this time, and the females’ consequences of following these norms.

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Ophelia is able to reveal to Polonius that Hamlet has affection for her. “‘He hath my lord, of late made many tenders of affection to me!’... ‘do you believe his tenders as you call them?” Ophelia wants to believe that Hamlet is being sincere revealing a feminine way to look at an affair, but Polonius shuts down her perceptions about Hamlet. Feminist analysis comes into play with the male intentions versus the female emotions.

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Throughout many literary works, there are various objects, people, or elements that symbolize something far greater in the work as a whole. These elements are necessary to deepen the reader’s understanding of the work in its entirety or specific characters within the text. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the story opens with the appearance of the ghost of Hamlet’s father. This leads to a certain set of events that eventually lead to Hamlet’s downfall. Hamlet, is by far, one of Shakespeare’s most diverse characters seen as Hamlet is a reflection of many of the other characters around him:

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Claudius had arranged an execution for Hamlet, to get rid of him permanently. Behind these acts of deception, we can see Claudius had wanted power, and would do anything to achieve it. This makes

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The reader completes their examination of the Hamlet tragedy, and we agree that Hamlet is a significant text, as it encourages us to think again about our values and

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However, Hamlet soon discovers that Claudius has been lying to him, and Claudius’ real motive is to kill Hamlet in order to exterminate all possible threats to his reign. Claudius’ role play affects the entire country of Denmark, and he convinces the people that he is the rightful king, when he is not, and has murdered his brother for the throne. Gertrude, too, takes on a role; throughout the play, she seems oblivious to her wrongdoings. She claims that she loves Claudius, and did not just marry him for political reasons.

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